Despite a late setback in their final group stage match, former U.S. men's national team goalkeeper Brad Guzan is urging supporters to remain calm and confident as the team prepares for the round of 32. The U.S. men's national team suffered a 3-2 loss to Türkiye on Thursday, but Guzan emphasized that the result does not diminish the team's overall standing or internal belief.
"Listen, all I was saying was there's been a lot of talk, a lot of hype within the last two games around this U.S. team," Guzan stated. "For all of our new USA fans. Everyone, calm down. Everyone, take a deep breath."
Guzan highlighted that the U.S. fielded a largely inexperienced squad against Türkiye, with nine of the eleven starters making their first appearance in the 2026 World Cup. Despite the loss, the team maintained possession (52-48) and outshot their opponent (18-9), with more shots on target (7-3) and more touches in the opponent's box (37-24).
However, the match did expose some defensive challenges. FOX Sports' Maurice Edu assigned ratings of 5 or lower to all four of the U.S. starting defenders, as the team conceded two early goals in the first half.
Despite the loss, the team's path forward remains unchanged. Having won Group D with two victories in their initial matches, outscoring opponents by five goals, the U.S. will now face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32. Guzan stressed the importance of a big-picture perspective, noting that the team's confidence is intact.
"We are OK," Guzan said. "We're going into the round of 32. This result tonight did not change anything. We still top the group, we are still going into this round to a [round of] 32 game against Bosnia with confidence, with belief, jump on board, stay on board, and let's ride this thing to the final."